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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: date · bore · rule · land · capital · march · court · squash

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. capital — money
  5. date — the fruit
  6. land — to come down
  7. land — ground
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. court — of law
  10. march — the month
  11. court — of a king
  12. bore — to drill
  13. squash — to crush
  14. rule — government
  15. land — a country
  16. squash — the sport
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. march — music
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. capital — a city
  21. court — for sport
  22. rule — a law
  23. march — the month
  24. bore — gave birth

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com